Can-making machine.



No. 725,886. PATENTED APR. 21, 1903.

E. SMALL, DEGD.

M. SMALL, ADMINISTRATRIX.

CAN MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, 1902.

N0 MODEL. 6 SHEETSSHEET 1.

No. 725,886. v PATBNTED-APR.21,'1903.

E.-SMALL,DEGD.

M. SMALL, ADMIKISTRATRIX.

CAN MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION nun mm: 21, 1902. v

. s sums-mum.

H0 MODEL.

No. 725,8?6 A PATENTED APR. 21, 1903.

' E. SMALL, DEGD.

m. SMALL, mmmsmnmx.

CAN MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED mm: 21, 1902.

' a SHEETS-SHEET 4.

HO MODEL. v

6. .95 f3? /6 49 I 2,9 6 l6 Arim nows rcrzns 90.. mow-mun. wnsnmmon o cNo. 725,886. PATENTED APR. 21, 1903.

E. SMALL, DBGD.

M. SMALL, ADMINISTEATRIX.

CAN MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, 1902.

no MODEL.

1 15115 co. wnoro-urno. WASNINGTOIL n. cy

UNITED STATES:

PATENT OFFICE.

MARY SMALL, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ADM'INISTRATRIX or EDWARD SMALL,DECEASED.

CAN-MAKlNG MACHINE. v

sPEoIFIoA'rI'oN'rormin part of Letters Patent No.v25,sse, dated April21, 1903.

Application filed June 21, 1962. SerialNo. 112,604. (No model.) v

To aZZ whom, it nut/y concern:

Be it known that EDWARD SM ALL,deceased,

late a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Baltimore, in theState of Maryland, I

5 did invent certain new and useful Improvementsin Can-Making Machines,of which the chines, particularly to that type of machines,

designed to form the complete body of a can [5 from a flat blank, inwhich means are provided for successively feeding flat can-blanks tomechanism for breaking the edges thereof,

forming the blank about a mandrel or horn,

interlocking the broken edges, crimping the same to form a side seam,and finally discharging the completed body from the horn or mandrel. 1

The invention aims to improve the general construction of such machinesto the end 2 5 that their efficiency may be enhanced, to simplify andincrease the durability thereof, and to improve the product of the same.

To this end the invention includes the combination of parts and detailsof construction,

0 which will be hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out inthe claims.

In the accompanying drawings,which illustrate one embodiment of theinvention, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the improved 5 machine. Fig.2 is a cross-sectional-view of the same, taken on the line 1 1. Fig.3 isa detail end view of the mandrel and formers associated therewith,showing the upper formers in raised position. Fig. 4 is a similar-viewshowing one of the upper formers lowered-upon the blank. Fig. 5 is aview showing both of the upper formers in lowered positions. Fig. 6 is aview similar to Fig. 5, showing the crimping-bar in lowered posi- 5tion; Figs7 and 8 are detailviews of the blank-feeding mechanism, andFigs. 9, l0, and 11 are-detail views of the ejecting-fingers and thecarrier and operating mechanism for the same.

The main frame of the machine herein presented includes side standardsor legs a, having their upper ends connected by a top or platform I),from which rise two side standards c, supporting a yoke or arch d, whichspans the same and is bolted to the upper 5 ends thereof. From thetop 1) a cylindrical mandrel orhorn e is supported, about which thecan-blanks are bent to form the same into cylindrical bodies. Theblanksf, which are perfectly fiat, are fed successively to and beneaththe mandrel, from the rear there0f,bya reciprocating carriage.(Particularly shown in Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings.) This carriageincludes a pair of reciprocating bars g, guided in channels or waysinthe top 6, provided with flexible or resilient pushing-fingers h,located in slots in said bars and extending through the ends thereof toform projections above thefaces of said bars. Each finger preferablycomprises a springblade secured at one end Within the slot in the barwith whichit is associated, while its free end extends through said slotand is surmounted with a head having an inclined or beveled uppersurface and a front face ar- '75 ranged substantially at right angles tothe face of the bar. The fingers are arranged in pairs spaced a distanceapart slightly greater than the Width of the body-blank. Associated witheach pair. of fingers is a pair of fixed stops 2', having engaging endsand inclined upper surfaces, the said ends being arranged inalinementwith or slightly to the rear of the extreme forward positionreached by the pair of fingers in the forward reciprocation of thecarriage with which they are associated. One of said stops is located tothe outside of each finger.

In operation the blanks are fed by hand or automatically onto thecarriage in advance of the rear pair of fingers h when said carriage isin retracted position or at the end of its rear stroke. Upon the forwardreciprocation of the carriagethe fingers will push-the blank toward themandrel, said blank riding over 5 the pair of stops 11 in its path, andits rear edge will drop in'advance of said stops" as the carriagereaches the limit ofits forward reciprocation. On the rear stroke orreciprocation of the carriage the blank will be held I00 by said stops1' and prevented from moving rearwardly with the former, while thesucceeding pair offingers h, or those in advance of the pair which havejust fed, the blank, will pass beneath said blank until near the end ofthe rearward reciprocation of the carriage, when they will pass beyondthe rear edge of the blank and snap up to assume'a position behind andin the plane of said edges. On the forward reciprocation of the carriagethe blank will be again advanced, and this action is carried oncontinuously until the blank reaches a position below the mandrel. Thecarriage is reciprocated by a bell-crank lever 79, pivotally supportedupon a shaft m, having one member thereof provided with afriction-roller working between studs '11, depending from an arm 0,extending from the carriage, and its other member provided with afriction-roller with which an operating-cam 19 engages to rock the sameagainst the tension of a spring r, connected at one end to a pindepending from the top I) and at its other end to the vertical member ofsaid lever 7t. The cam 19 is carried by a cam-shaft 3, provided with agear-wheel t, in mesh with a gear-wheel a, fixed to a main cam-shaft v,driven from the main drive-shaft w of the machine by suitable interposedgearing. When the hat blank reaches a position directly below themandrel e, a cam 1 on the shaft 'ucoacts with afriction-roller in theend of a sliding bar 2 and forces the latter upwardly to clamp the blankagainst the mandrel, and thereby hold the same against movement whilethe edges thereof are being broken by suitable dies. The dies disclosedin the drawings comprise fixed female members 3 and movable male members4, carried by rods or stems 5, guided in brackets 6, which are depressedagainst the tension of lifting-spring 7 by cams 8, secured to acounter-shaft 9, journaled in the standard 0 and driven from the shaft22 bysuitable interposed gearing 10. The cams 8 engage projections, asrollers 8 on the stems 5, once during each rotation of the shaft. On thedepression of the die members 4 the edges ofthe blank are broken or bentto form oppositely-turned hooks 11 12, as clearly shown in Fig; 3. Assoon as the dies 4 are retracted the blank is partially bent about themandrel e by a bottom sectional former 13, which comprises a headportion 13 of a length substantially equal to that of the blank, saidhead having a concave channel or seat therein concentric with theperiphery of the mandrel and of a depth substantially equal to one-halfthe diameterof the same. To each side of the head 13' a wing 14 ispivotally connected, provided with an inner face conforming to theperiphery of the mandrel and providing a continuation of theforming-face of the head 13'. The wings are provided with noses orrounded free ends 15, and with each wing a suitable leaf-spring 16 isassociated, which tends to press the wings inwardly. The head 13 isguided in suitable vertical ways below the mandrel and is provided withdepending bars 17, having forked ends engaging the shaft e, which form aguide for the same, and laterally-extending rollers 18, with which cams10, fixed to the shaft 'U, coact to lift said bars, and therethrongh thebottom former, against the tension of springs 20. The latter findbearings between brackets 21, fixed to a stationary part of the top Z)and to the bars 17, respectively, and they are guided and maintained inposition by stems depending from the upper brackets 21 and passingthrough openings in the lower companion brackets. The lower former 13 israised just after the edges of the blank are broken, and as the wings15, carried thereby, strike against the slightly convex surface of theblank they are by reason of the rounded ends or noses 15 deflectedoutwardly or spread apart against the tension of the springs 16, andthus pass around the mandrel without checking the'operation of themachine. After the wings have passed above the center of the mandrel orabove a horizontal plane extending through the axis thereof they areforced in by the springs 16 and assist in pressing the blank against theperiphery of said mandrel. The edges of the blanks extending beyond theends of the wings being free extend off or project tangentially from themandrel, as shown in Fig. 3, and to press the same against the latter asectional upper former is provided consistingv ofindependently-operating members 23 24, movable in suitable guides in abracket 25. The members 23 24 are depressed against the tension ofsprings 26 by cams 27, secured to the shaft 9, and the operations ofsaid cams are so timed that-one member will be depressed in advance ofthe other. The periphery of the mandrel e is provided with a groove e,extending longitudinally thereof, at a point directly above the axis ofthe same, and on the depression of the member 24 the edge of the blankhaving an upwardly-projecting hook is forced against the periphery ofthe horn, and said hook is seated in said groove. rectly thereafter themember 23 is depressed and the other edge of the blankforced against themandrel and the downwardly-projecting hook l1 interlocked with the hook12. To clamp or crimp the interlocked hooked edges, a crimping-bar 28 isprovided, which is guided between the members 23 24 and is operated by acam 29 on the shaft 9. The action of the latter cam is so timed that itwill depress the bar 28 just after the edges 11 12 are interlocked, andthereby the latter are clamped together or crimped, as shown in Fig. 6.The body of the can being thus completely formed, it is thendesirable toautomatically eject or remove the same from the mandrel in order thatanother blank may be formed thereon and the operation before describedcarried on continuously.

The ejecting mechanism herein disclosed is best illustrated in Figs. 9,10, and 11, and as therein shown it comprises a carriage in- IIO cludinga pair of reciprocating bars guided in channels 31, Figs. 3 to 6,extending longitudinally in the mandrel 6, each bar being provided atthe end thereof with a flexiblysupported pushing-finger 30. Each fingercomprises a spring-blade secured in a slot in the end of'the bar withwhich it is associated, provided with a head the end of which projectsbeyond the outer face of the bar and presents a beveled or inclined sideand a shouldered end. The bars are connected at their rear ends to theend of an arm 32, fixed to a rock-shaft 33, that is operated through anarm 3%, connected by an adjustable linkcoupling 35 to the end of onemember of a bell-crank lever 36, which is operated by a cam 37 on theshaft 5. The adj ustability of the coupling 35 permits the throwimparted to the arm 34 by the lever 36 to be regulated and therethroughthe paths of travel of the fingers 30 to be regulated or adjusted. Theparticular construction of adjustable coupling employed in the presentembodiment of the invention includes a pair of pivoted links connectedat one end to the arm 34 and at their opposite ends to an arm 37,provided with a longitudinal slot, through which binding-screws 38 passfor securing the same to a head on the end of the arm 36. This head isprovided with a lateral extension 39, in which an adjusting-screw 40 isthreaded and which finds a bearing on the end of arm 38. As the bars 30are reciprocated rearwardly the inclined faces of the head 30',contacting with the side of the blank bent about the mandrel, force thefingers within the slots in the end of said bars, and thus they offer noobstruction to the free reciprocation of the carriage. At or near theend of the rearward reciprocation of said carriage the heads pass beyondthe rear edges of the formed blank, when, under the tension, of thesprings carrying the same, they snap. up in position to engage with saidrear edge. On the forward stroke of the bars the fingers then act aspushers and eject the formed blank from the mandrel.

To brace shaft 9 and prevent the central portion thereof from bucklingor bending under the pressure of the cams mounted thereon, abrace-bracket 41 is provided, which finds a bearing upon the under sideof the yoke (1, upon which it is adjustably mounted. This bracket isprovided with depending fingers 42, engaging said shaft 9 between thecamsmountedthereon. Toadjust thebracket to take up wear, a wedge 43 isprovided, which is forced in between the same and the yoke by screws 45,Figs. 1 and 2, and acts to hold the bracket against upward movement, andthereby prevents any springing of the shaft upwardly at the center. Thebracket and wedge, in effect, constitute a brace between the frame andthe intermediate part of theshaft to support the-latter in proximity toeach of the arms. The top of the bracket and wedge have extended flatcontacting 1. Inacan-body-forming machine, thecom- I bination with amandrel, means for feeding a flat blank thereto, and means for breakingthe edges thereof, of a bottom former comprising yielding and rigidsections, a top former comprising successively-operating sections, and acrimping-bar, substantially as described.

2. In a can-body-forming machine, the combination with a mandrel, meansfor feeding a fiat blank thereto, and means for breaking the edgesthereof, of an upper former comprising successively-operating sections,and a crimping-bar located between said successively-operating sections,substantially as described.

3. In a can-body-forming machine, the combination with a mandrel, meansfor feeding a flatblank thereto, and means for breaking the,

edges thereof, of a bottom former comprising a rigid head and yieldingsections associated therewith, a top former comprisingsuccessively-operating sections,and a crimping-bar, substantially asdescribed.

4. In combination in a can-body-forming machine, a mandrel, means forfeeding a flat blank thereto, a clamping-bar for clamping the blank tothe mandrel, dies operating upon the opposite edges of the flat blank tobreak the edges of the same, a bottom former for bending said blankabout the mandrel, said mandrel havinga longitudinal groove therein,sectional dies for forcing the broken edges of the blank into saidgroove in interlocking positions, and a crimping-plate operating uponsaid interlocked edges, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for forming can body blanks, and in combination, a mainframe; a mandrel; a main cam-shaft; a supplemental cam shaft operatedtherefrom; meansfor feeding a flat blank beneath said mandrel; edge diesfor breaking the edges of the blank; a bottom former operated from saidmain cam-shaft; top formers, and a crimping-bar cooperating with themandrel to interlock the cam -shaft operated therefrom; means forfeeding a fiat blank beneath said mandrel;'a

bottom former operated from said main camshaft; dies for breaking theedges of the blank and top formers, and a crimping-bar cooperating withthe mandrel to interlock the edges and crimp the seam; cams foroperatedges and crimp the seam; cams for operating the dies, top formersand crimping-bar; an upper cam-shaft carrying said cams,driven from themain cam-shaft; means for ejecting the completed body, said feeding andejecting meanscomprising reciprocating carriages, means for operatingsaid carriages including bell-crank levers, and cams on saidsupplemental cam-shaft for actuating said levers, substantially asdescribed.

7. In a can-body-forming machine,the combination with a mandrel, meansfor feeding a blank thereto,and means for forming the same about themandrel, of ejecting means for the formed body, including a pair ofreciprocating bars guided in said mandrel, a flexiblysupported fingerassociated with the end of each bar, a rock-shaft, an arm securedthereto connected to said bars, a second arm depending from the saidrock-shaft, a bell-crank le- I ver with means for rocking the same, andan adjustable coupling between said bell-crank lever and said secondarm, including a link and an arm carried thereby having a slidingconnection with the head of said bell-crank lever, substantially asdescribed.

8. In a can-body-forming machine, the combination with a mandrel, of aformer, including a rigid head having a channel or seat thereinconcentric with the periphery of the mandrel, wings pivoted to oppositesides thereof having inner faces concentric with said man drel, androunded ends, and a spring associated with each wing for pressing thesame inwardly, substantially as described.

9. Inacan-body-formingmachine,thecombination with a frame, a mandrel,and means for feeding flat blanks successively thereto, a maincam-shaft, a bottom former, bars depending therefrom having forked endsstraddling said shaft, cams on said shaft, and coacting rollers on saidbars, brackets carried by said bars and companion fixed brackets,springs interposed between the same, a clamping-bar operated from saidmain cam-shaft, movable dies operating upon the edges of said blank, asecond cam-shaft driven from the main cam-shaft, means carried therebyfor operating said dies, an upper former, means operated from the uppercam-shaft for depressing the same, a crimping-bar and means operated bysaid second cam-shaft for depressing the latter, substantially asdescribed.

10. In a can body-forming machine, the combination with a frame,comprising a bottom portion, side standardsand a yoke connecting thesame, of a mandrel, blank-feeding mechanism, means located above theblank for operating upon the same, a cam-shaft 'journaled in saidstandards, cams secured thereto for actuating the latter means, and abracing device for said shaft, including a bracket adjustably connectedto said yoke, and depending fingers engaging said shaft, substantiallyas described.

MARY SMALL, Administratrizr 0 f the estate ofEdwarcZ Small,

deceased. Witnesses:

HORACE SLINGLUFF, CARROLL T. Bonn.

